Jose Rodriguez pleads guilty to misdemeanor, will serve house arrest

The former mayor of Boynton Beach has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, but he won't serve any jail time.

Jose Rodriguez pleaded guilty Friday morning in two separate criminal cases. Rodriguez was sentenced to 60 days in the Palm Beach County Jail with credit for one day, but his attorney said his client has qualified for in-house arrest.

Rodriguez was accused of misusing his power as mayor and defrauding a bank during a short sale.

Although Rodriguez pleaded guilty, he maintains his innocence on both allegations. His attorney said Rodriguez is very frustrated.

"(He) ultimately made a decision that he thought was best for himself and his family, and we're going to move forward and get closure," attorney Jason Weiss said. "Hopefully it will be closure for him and hopefully it will be closure for the community and everybody will be able to move on."

Under the terms of his probation, Rodriguez has until May 10 to surrender to the jail so he can be fitted for an ankle-monitoring device.

Rodriguez released the following statement:

"I first want to apologize to those that I have disappointed during one of the most difficult seasons of my life. I made some bad personal financial decisions in the downturn of the economy that I take full responsibility for. I also want to thank the many people who believe in me and continue to stand by my side.

"One of the most difficult things I have ever had to do is to admit to something God knows I did not do, but our system breaks you down physically, financially and emotionally, leaving you little or no choices. I had to admit to doing something I did not do in exchange for not suffering unacceptable consequences for what I did do.

"These events are the result of the citizens of Boynton Beach electing a results-oriented, business mayor, and then that mayor running smack into $150,000-plus salaried life bureaucrats who have spent their entire careers on the hamster wheel, wasting our tax dollars. The fact remains that one week after I was critical of how we handled the arrest of several police officers and requested a comprehensive review of the police department, that same department coincidentally reopened a closed incident report from three months prior and turned it into an investigation of me, all with no new information.

"Two investigations by the Boynton Beach Police Department and one from an outside agency all concluded that the questions raised were unfounded. Then, when I questioned why it took three months to make the decision to investigate, I was charged with multiple crimes related to asking the basic question of, 'Why?' This was clearly retaliation and misuse of power by the Boynton Beach Police Department. Why has (the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) or the FBI not looked into these actions? Unfortunately, this was clearly a situation of the fox guarding the hen house."

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